A Little Too Much
by SamanthaRose
Summary: ONE SHOT Jecht and Auron realize how hard they're making Braska's journey with their constant fighting... could there be something other than hatred as the cause?


The door opened in the darkness, but at this late hour there was no light outside the room to betray whoever it was that entered. Jecht didn't bother looking up from his spot, sprawled in the bathtub in his clothes. This was the spot closest to the toilet and still comfortable enough to lay down in, his raging headache and churning stomach enough to help him ignore the protests of the rest of his body.

"Serves you right." A voice grumbled near him, and he grunted back in reply, opening one eye enough to see a darker shadow standing against night's dark backdrop. "Maybe this time, you won't do it again."

There was a shuffling sound, and Jecht wasn't quite quick enough to close his eyes before a match lit in the darkness, sending a stabbing pain into his head and down to his gut. He swallowed hard as his body protested, breathing deeply and evenly through his nose to keep the nausea down and listening in otherwise silence to Auron's voice begrudgingly.

"Lord Braska wants you to get up and get cleaned up. We have to leave again soon, and we aren't going to wait a day for you to recover, Jecht." Auron used the match to light a nearby candle, and Jecht put his hand over his eyes with a groan. "Stop being such a baby."

"You ever been hungover before, pretty boy?" Jecht mumbled, hearing the typical 'hnn' that was Auron's reply to most things he said these days.

"I think you asked me that last time. I think the answer is still the same."

Jecht grunted, letting out a squawk and flailing when a hand grabbed his arm and dragged him upwards.

"HEY! What's the big idea?!"

"I told you, we're not waiting for you! So get yourself pulled together and let's get back on the road!" Auron's brown eyes were blazing, and Jecht met his glare with one of his own, a smug look of satisfaction crossing his face after a moment when he realized how much taller than normal he was compared to Auron when he was standing in this bathtub. The realization of how ridiculous they must look made him snicker, and Auron released him with a noise of disgust, turning away.

"Why Braska seems to see potential in you, Jecht, I'll never know." The mutter was so soft Jecht almost missed it, and it took him a second to register. He reached out and took ahold of Auron's jacket, spinning him so that they were facing again, only this time their faces were mere inches apart. Auron cringed, though Jecht was sure it was more because of his breath than it was his intimidation.

"I'm hungover, not fucking deaf, Auron. I heard that." He growled, and Auron reached up to put his hand on Jecht's arm. His fingers closed in a firm grip, but Jecht didn't let go, his own eyes blazing now.

"So what." Auron's voice had taken on the emotionless tone that meant he was attempting to push Jecht's buttons and make him blow up while remaining calm himself. The tactic was one he used in every fight now, and it always managed to make Jecht look like the bad guy. "What do you intend to do about it?"

Jecht's face twisted furiously as he searched for a retort, but after failing to find one he simply released Auron and turned away with a grunt, rubbing the back of his neck and working the kinks out of it from lying in the bathtub.

"Maybe I ought to just stay here." He murmured. "I'm no good anyway. No good as a guardian."

It seemed that Auron hadn't been expecting the response, as a moment of silence stretched between them punctuated only by their breathing. After awhile, Auron took a breath and sighed gently, Jecht looking over his shoulder at the other man.

"Braska thinks you're doing fine. He sees potential, as I mentioned. He wouldn't want you to stay here." Auron muttered, and Jecht turned back to him with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, but what about you? You don't think much of me at all."

"It isn't my pilgrimage." Auron stated bluntly, turning his eyes to gaze at the floor of the small bathroom. "Therefore, what I think doesn't matter."

Jecht stared at him for a moment, then grunted and turned away again, stepping out of the bathtub on unsure legs and stumbling to the sink. When he turned the water on and began splashing it in his face, Auron spoke quietly again behind him.

"I want to see the potential that Braska sees, Jecht. I do. It's just that…" There was another sigh, and Jecht found himself watching Auron in the mirror in front of him. The younger male had his eyes closed again and was standing with shoulder slumped, his hands clenched into fists. "The rugged, filthy drunk you wear over that potential makes it very hard. If only you could stop drinking…"

Without another word, Auron left the room and left Jecht to his own thoughts, thoughts that were jumbled, self pitying and confused. He cleaned up as best he could, brushed his teeth and stood staring at himself in the mirror for a moment before making the decision to join the others outside.

They all left quietly, not even Braska attempting to make conversation. Jecht supposed the tension that lingered between himself and Auron was going to make it more difficult than it needed to be for the Summoner. The hard road they faced, and the end of Braska's journey…

There was an awful feeling deep down in Jecht's stomach. He hadn't realized it, not really… but he hadn't been thinking about them. About how they must have been feeling.

All he had been thinking about so far was himself. Woe was him, stuck here and unable to get home. Woe was him…

But Braska was heading down a road that would eventually lead to his death, his sacrifice for the rest of the people of Spira. And Auron knew this very well and was protecting him every step of the way, fighting so that Braska could complete his journey.

He had only been making it harder for them. He had no idea how they must have been feeling about all of this.

Later that night, when Braska was resting, Auron and Jecht both found themselves unable to sleep and sat together for first watch. Tense silence continued to stretch between them, and to Jecht's surprise, Auron was the first to break it.

"Good job today."

"Huh?"

"Those fiends, on the road. You did a good job."

Jecht let out a soft laugh and shook his head.

"If complimenting me hurts you so damn much, don't bother doing it, Auron. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself for my sake." He laughed again, looking over at Auron. The younger male gazed back at him in confusion, and Jecht shook his head once more, looking up at the sky. "It sounded like it took a lot of effort, y'know, to say that."

"Not really." Auron replied slowly, looking towards the entrance of the clearing they were resting in. "Maybe… just a little."

"So why bother?" Jecht asked, and Auron was quiet a moment before pushing himself to his feet and sighing.

"Because… we shouldn't spend all of our time and energy being so negative towards one another. This is the last thing Braska will remember before the end, and I don't want him to remember nothing but fighting and hatred and raised voices. I want…" Auron looked down at Jecht with a frown, and the larger male stood to face him. "I want us to at least TRY to get along."

"Hmm…" Jecht folded his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow, thinking for a moment before nodding and lowering his arms again. "Alright. I think I can attempt it. You're stuffy… but I'll put in an extra effort to see past the stuffiness."

Auron blinked at him, then shook his head and looked up at the sky himself. After a moment, Jecht smiled and reached out a gloved hand to seize Auron's ponytail. Auron's hand came up and grasped his arm, another frown gracing his young face as he shook his head at Jecht.

"Don't do that."

"Sorry."

They stood looking at one another in silence, surrounded by the sounds of night and Braska's quiet, even breathing, then Jecht made a soft, thoughtful noise. Auron questioned him silently, aware that Jecht's hand still rested on his shoulder and that his still rested on Jecht's arm.

"Maybe there's something else going on here. Maybe all this tension isn't negative. Maybe it's something… different." Jecht mumbled, and Auron arched an eyebrow at him.

"What are you going on about?" He asked in reply, able to see the slight flush in Jecht's cheeks in the moonlight. "Are you drunk again?"

"You've been with me all day, did you see me drinking?" Jecht growled, and Auron made a soft noise in reply, shaking his head. "As for what I'm going on about… maybe we don't hate each other, Auron."

"I don't understand." Auron murmured, and Jecht brought his other hand up so that it rested on Auron's other shoulder.

"Maybe the problem is… we actually like each other."

"Why would that be a problem?"

"It can be a problem… if we liked each other a little too much, y'know? Maybe that's what's causin' all of this."

"Jecht…" There was a warning tone in Auron's voice, and he dropped the hand that was gripping Jecht's arm, looking up at him with an unimpressed expression.

"Seriously." Jecht murmured in reply. "You ever thought about that?"

"Not once. What are you doing?" The note of warning became a note of panic when Jecht leaned closer, and Auron attempted to take a step back. Jecht's strong hands kept him from doing so, and he took in a sharp breath. "Let go of me."

"Sorry." Jecht said again, face turning even more flushed. He hurriedly let go of Auron and stepped back himself, clearing his throat. Auron shook his jacket back into place and swallowed a few times, his heart thundering in his chest and making him feel uncomfortably warm.

This was causing more awkwardness than he would have wished for. His cheeks felt hot and his hands were shaking… how was Jecht having this effect on him?

"I'm going to patrol a bit… I'll be back." He said softly, turning to head out of the clearing. Jecht muttered a reply, and Auron felt thankful to leave growing tension that was worse now than it had been before.

He hadn't gotten three steps when Jecht's footsteps caught up to him and the other man took hold of his arm once more. Before he could make a sound of protest or pull away, Jecht spun him to face him and gathered the front of his jacket in his free hand.

Auron opened his mouth to speak, a furious and surprised expression on his face…

Then his head exploded with stars, his knees turned weak and his breath left him with a gasp as Jecht's mouth crashed down on his in a very unexpected, very awkward kiss.

The seconds ticked by as heartbeats, and for a moment, Auron felt as if he had left his body and was floating in some sort of different plane, a different world. There was a burning sensation in his chest, a swelling that threatened to engulf him…

When it grew nearly too much to bear, he found himself falling back into his senses, himself, and he raised one hand to bury in Jecht's hair, returning the kiss with eagerness he didn't know was inside him to begin with.

Jecht groaned softly, the hand gripping Auron's arm moving away so he could pull the smaller man closer, arm snaking around his hips. As Auron found himself pressed to Jecht's broad chest, he remembered to breath again, eyes opening partway.

Braska slept on… there was no one to see them, nothing to stop them. The rest of the night was wasted away without anymore need for words.


End file.
